Drama / Historical

Slovakia / Czech Republic / Poland / Belgium, 2025, 102 min

Director: Martin Gonda
Screenplay: Martin Šuster, Dominika Udvorková, Martin Gonda
Camera: Oliver Záhlava

Actors: Vladimíra Štefániková, Michal Soltész, Vladimír Čema, Igor Latta, Stanislav Pitoňák, Světlana Škovranová, Jevgenij Libezňuk, Cyril Drozda, Jozef Pantlikáš

Locations in the Košice region: Šrobárova Grammar School Košice, Košice

The debut feature film of Košice native Martin Gonda is the first narrative film about the Rusyns in the Rusyn language. Alongside professional actors, non-actors from the Rusyn community also appear, adding authenticity and a strong regional character to the story.

Flood takes place in 1980 in Czechoslovakia. Fifteen-year-old Mara dreams of becoming a pilot and leaving her village, but her father Alexander, a Rusyn farmer and widower, wants her to stay and work at home. When their valley faces flooding due to the construction of the Starina reservoir, father and daughter must cope not only with the loss of their home, but also with finding a way to understand each other. The film is also a story of a generational divide. In this context, the character of Mara represents a young, emancipatory perspective — a girl who refuses to accept the fate of a housewife and seeks her own way to live freely.

The film was shot mainly in the towns of Medzilaborce, Humenné, Snina, and Košice, as well as in smaller villages such as Čertižné, Svetlice, and Nechválová Polianka. In Košice itself, filming took place for example at Šrobárova Grammar School, which was temporarily transformed into the Military Secondary Aviation School.